Baramulla teachers asked ‘Keep Fingers Sealed!’ on Social Media

The Chief Education Officer of Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir has directed teaching and non-teaching staff under the School Education Department to refrain from criticizing government policies on social media, warning of strict punitive action including dismissal.

In a circular issued Saturday, all district employees were asked to “strictly adhere to guidelines and refrain from indulging in unwarranted debates, and avoid sharing, commenting, or posting inappropriate content on social media platforms.” The directive comes amid what the CEO described as “various instances of misuse of social media platforms by teaching and non-teaching staff,” which he said amounted to interference in departmental policy matters and violated earlier government circulars issued in 2023.

The circular allows for punishments ranging from censure, fines not exceeding one month’s pay, withholding of increments or promotions, demotion, recovery from pay for losses caused to the government, premature retirement, and removal from service. However, it notes that employees are not barred from social media entirely and may use it for “positive and constructive purposes.”

Pulwama MLA and PDP leader Waheed Para slammed the order, saying it silences voices in an already subdued region. “A government that promised to give people a voice is now contributing to silencing the few remaining ones in Jammu and Kashmir,” Para said in a post on X, sharing a copy of the circular.

The move comes as the J-K administration is reportedly drafting a new media policy aimed at regulating digital platforms, following widespread criticism of the 2020 New Media Policy, which journalists, civil society groups, and political leaders said carried authoritarian undertones. Critics say such measures, coupled with orders like the one in Baramulla, are part of a pattern to control online discourse and restrict criticism by government employees.

By targeting teaching and non-teaching staff, the administration appears intent on ensuring that those who represent the government in schools remain publicly silent , at least on matters of policy.